Dig Deeper: Matthew 4:23 Under a Microscope

Sunday, June 16, 2024

Matthew 4:23 Under a Microscope

And Jesus went about all Galilee,

teaching in their synagogues,

and preaching the gospel of the kingdom,

and healing all manner of sickness

and all manner of disease among the people.

Matthew 4:23

Q: What was He Teaching?
A: Points of Doctrine (like about marriage, the Sabbath, State of the Dead, 2nd Advent, Justification, Sanctification, the Triune Godhead, etc.)
But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
Mark 10:6-9
And He said unto them, What man shall there be among you,
that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.
Matthew 12:11:12
Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.
John 11:11,13
Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when He cometh in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.
Mark 8:38
For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.
John 3:17
If ye love Me, keep My commandments.
John 14:15
Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of Myself: but the Father that dwelleth in Me, he doeth the works. And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever;
John 14:10:16

Spiritual Lessons (like the Parables)
But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.
Mark 4:34
And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?
Luke 6:39
Now learn a parable of the fig tree;
Matthew 24:32
Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
Luke 8:11

and Prophecy (about His crucifixion and the end times)
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
John 3:14
But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet,...
Mark 13:14
And He said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.
Luke 21:8
And as He sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?
And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Matthew 24:3,6-8

Q: What was He preaching?
A: The Gospel and Repentance.
From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Matthew 4:17
--For God so loved the world,

--that he gave His only begotten Son,

--that whosoever believeth in Him

--should not perish,

--but have everlasting life.
John 3:16

Q: How much Healing?
A: Enough to physically exhaust the human body.

Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto Him; and he laid His hands on every one of them, and healed them. And when it was day, He departed and went into a desert place: and the people sought
Him, and came unto Him, and stayed Him, that He should not depart from them.
Luke 4:40,42

And He said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.
Mark 6:31

This is My commandment,

That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

Greater love hath no man than this,

that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Ye are My friends,

if ye do whatsoever I command you.

John 15:12-14

What We BELIEVE

* And now abideth faith, hope, LOVE, these three; but the greatest of these is LOVE. 1 Corinthians 13:13

* Genesis 1-11 is actual HISTORY

* The 10 Commandments WAS - IS - & WILL BE the LAW of GOD

* REVELATION is written in symbols for actual end time events

* The SANCTUARY lays out the Plan of Salvation (Justification / Outer Court + Sanctification / Inner Court = preparation for your Judgment / Most Holy Place)

* The solemnity of the 7th day SABBATH (Saturday) was NEVER transferred to the 1st day of the week (Sunday) by God

* The modern charismatic movement is a counterfeit Latter Rain

* The Mark-of-the-beast will involve some sort of counterfeit Sabbath

* "Soul Sleep" for the State of the Dead (dead until the resurrection)

* The Godhead (Trinity) are 3 separate beings who work together in unity

* The GODHEAD's Existence is ETERNAL (in other words-The arrow of time stretching for Infinity in both directions)

* The GREEN RELIGION (modern environmental movement) is a cleverly cloaked spiritualism for the "sophisticated" modern world

* The Little Horn of Daniel & the Beast of Revelation (a.k.a. the anti-christ to some) is one & the same institution - the same institution the Reformers declared it to be during the Reformation

* Marriage is between ONE man & ONE woman

* The Emerging Church movement -- & spiritual formation are modern day GNOSTICISM & have NO place within Christendom

* Women Ordination is an ASSAULT on the foundation of the Godhead (as God is the head of Christ in an ecclesiastical setting - so too was the man placed as the head of the woman in an ecclesiastical setting -- outside this setting they are equal as Christ is with the Father)

* Baptism is by Immersion at an age of consent

* Justification + Sanctification = TRUE RIGHTEOUSNESS BY FAITH....(Justification) Neither do I condemn thee: (Sanctification) go, and sin no more. John 8:11

* God is NOT homophobic -- rather He is sexual immorality phobic (HE places adultery, fornication, rape, bestiality, cross dressing AND homosexuality ALL in the same category)

* "HELL" is NOT an eternally burning place -- rather it is the Lake of Fire where the wicked will be destroyed together once & for all when this Great Controversy between God & His opponent comes to an end....God does NOT torment people for eternity

* The "Great Controversy" theme is the prism to make sense of this universal conflict between God & His opponent, of which we play a part on this space fabric of time as a "spectacle" (as Paul calls it) before all watching

* Biblical "speaking in tongues" was a GIFT of known foreign languages for Evangelization (not the gibberish "tongues" uttered in churches today)

* Historicism is the way to interpret eschatology from the view of the prophetic porch (NOT preterism, futurism or idealisim)

* The 3 Angel's Message (of Rev.14) is the central Mission of the SDA Church & the Sanctuary Doctrine (& it's sub-doctrine of the Investigative Judgment) is the Cornerstone Doctrine of the Denomination

* The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper is a SYMBOLIC Remembrance

* The 2nd Advent of Christ will be a literal, visible, physical return where EVERY EYE SHALL SEE HIM & that is when the dead will rise & the living be caught up-- Not at some sort of a "secret rapture" before His return...

* On the Nature of Christ - He was born with our sinful fallen nature / propensities--yet did NOT sin - hence His ability to be the spotless Lamb of God - the Lamb without blemish to cover ours

* 7th Day Adventism did not rise up at the end of the time-frame of Daniel 8:14 to be just another denomination to hang upon the wall of Christendom...

* The Dispensations around the Cross are 1) Before the Cross the Plan of Redemption laid out in the earthly Sanctuary in Types & Symbols patterned after the Heavenly Sanctuary {from the Altar of Sacrifice to the Mercy Seat} 2) After the Cross shifts to the REALITY of the Heavenly Sanctuary {from the Cross to the Judgment Seat}. ---- We REJECT the Dispensationalism that says "before the cross we were saved by the Law & after the Cross by Grace" ---- (the reason is because on BOTH SIDES OF THE CROSS we were never saved by the Law and always saved by Grace)

* We REJECT the DISGUSTING "Prosperity Gospel" as many see TV (so-called) Evangelists preach today

* Justification & Sanctification Simplified - God draws the BOUNDARIES with His LAW. When we step outside of them it's called SIN. (He offers JUSTIFICATION to remedy it). But afterwards He expects us to step back within those Boundaries (called SANCTIFICATION ).

* EndTime "BABYLON" - Confederacy of the Counterfeit Trinity of the "Dragon", "Beast" & "False Prophet" of Rev.16:13. (Also a term of Reference for the Fallen Condition of Christendom)

*The OLD TESTAMENT is simply the NEW TESTAMENT in Types & Symbols- therefore both are valid for Study & Doctrine.

* "A Minister's words are only of Value as long as his word's are an Echo of the Word's of God." {Dwayne Lemon}

* We REJECT the Church being involved with the ECUMENICAL movement....where do you see in Scripture God's people ever being told to be Ecumenical with neighboring religions?.. Nowhere....

*We believe in "Replacement Theology", that "Israel" in prophetic terms and spiritually is God's people...NOT Literal, Modern Day Israel in the Middle East.

* Tithing is Biblical: MONEY (1/10 to God) TIME (1/7 to God- the 7th day of the week, called the SABBATH)

* Soteriology: We believe in total FREE WILL as a component. - Therefore we Reject Sacramentalism, Predestination, Once-Saved-Always-Saved, Universalism & Pluralism.

* The HEALTH MESSAGE-Live it as best you can. Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest....be in health... 3 John 1:2

* And always remember - "If you feel yourself to be the greatest sinner, Christ is just what you need, the greatest Savior. Lift up your head and look away from yourself, away from your sin, to the uplifted Savior; away from the poisonous, venomous bite of the serpent to the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world." Ellen White {JUSTIFICATION}

* "God has given us His commandments, not only to be believed in, but to be obeyed." Ellen White {SANCTIFICATION}

* SUMMARY: "Every chapter and every verse of the Bible is a communication from God to men." Ellen White

* WARNING: "...by beholding we become changed. The mind gradually adapts itself to the subjects upon which it is allowed to dwell. It becomes assimilated to that which it is accustomed to love and reverence." Ellen White

Are Ashes Upon Your Lips?

The love of God still yearns over the one who has chosen to separate from Him, and He sets in operation influences to bring him back to the Father's house.
--Have you, reader, chosen your own way?
--Have you wandered far from God?
--Have you sought to feast upon the fruits of transgression, only to find them turn to ashes upon your lips?
Now that voice which has long been speaking to your heart but to which you would not listen comes to you distinct and clear, Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest; because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction. Micah 2:10. Return to your Father's house. He invites you, saying, Return unto Me; for I have redeemed thee. Isa. 44:22.
E.G.W.